Shiflett, Bultema Settle for Taking Fifth

Nicole Shiflett of Agoura High placed fifth in the 50-yard freestyle and Sarah Bultema of Westlake was fifth in the 100 butterfly in the Southern Section Division I swim championships Friday at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach.

Every race but the boys’ 100 breaststroke was won by swimmers from Orange County schools, with one national record and nine section records set.

Shiflett swam a career best of 24.42 seconds in the 50, won by San Clemente’s Sarah Jones for the fourth consecutive year in a section-record 23.04.

“These people are amazing,” Shiflett said of her Orange County competitors. “These are the people I read about, the people that go to senior nationals and Olympic trials. I was kind of hoping for a better place since I swam a better time, but considering the people up there, I can’t complain.”

Shiflett placed sixth in the 100 freestyle (53.06).

Bultema clocked 58.16 in the 100 butterfly. Winner Kaitlin Sandeno of El Toro, a 2000 Olympic bronze medalist in the 800-meter freestyle, set section and state records in 53.62.

Royal’s Justin McClure placed sixth in the boys’ 200 freestyle (1:44.24) and eighth in the 100 backstroke (53.42). Newport Harbor’s Aaron Peirsol, the 2000 Olympic silver medalist in the 200-meter backstroke, won both events Friday.

The Irvine boys won their second consecutive team title with 279 points. The Irvine girls won their fifth title in a row with 294 points.

Division III preliminaries--Oxnard freshman Erin Craft posted the fastest time in the 100 backstroke (59.32) and the third-best qualifying time in the 200 freestyle (1:55.68).